Salt Business Weathers Late Storm

March 17, 2005

A late flurry of freezing wintry weather in the Netherlands has resulted in Akzo Nobel having to meet an unexpected demand for road salt.

The company’s Salt business is used to making frequent deliveries during the winter months. But a recent spell of Arctic-type conditions meant that gritters had to be sent onto the Dutch roads in early March for the first time in ten years.

Various customers, including local councils, had not made provisions for the late winter weather and road salt stocks were depleted.

So Akzo Nobel’s production locations in Hengelo and Delfzijl, as well as depots in Utrecht, Oss and Maastricht, sprang into action to meet the unseasonally late demand.

As a result, the Salt business has delivered more than the average amount it usually supplies in the Netherlands during the winter months.